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Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Community Comments & Feedback to Security Absurdity Article

Community Comments & Feedback to Security Absurdity Article: "For example, how often have you heard Security Professionals advise that users should change their passwords every few months? This 'best-practice' is based on recommendations made 30 years ago regarding non-networked mainframes in a DoD environment! It is completely outdated by today's technology and changing passwords every few months has little impact on improving security."

Buy the Denon 7.1-Channel Multizone Receiver (AVR587) and other Home Audio Receivers and Amplifiers at circuitcity.com

I'll be doing some serious HD upgrades/replacements starting tomorrow. I'll have some commentary on that (with Picture goodness). It is nice to see that the prices of good, HD equipment is starting to fall into the 'reasonable' zone.

How is Microsoft making its charge? It starts with the software. A console can have all the hardware upgrades and fancy bells and whistleit wants, but unless there are some killer apps to play on the platform, it will die a slow death."

Indeed, and we are finally now starting to see games like Gears Of War that really make you want/need an HD console. They look and play THAT good. This is a great game, no mistake and Bungie is hopefully taking very good notes so that Halo 3 can be at least as good by Novenmber.

Meanwhile, I'll go back to playing GoW on hardcore mode and wishing I was good enough to tempt Insane mode :)

Nintendo confirms sales of 600,000 Wii consoles in first week | TG Daily: "Redmond (WA) - In plain shipment numbers, Nintendo's Wii can claim to have had the most successful launch week. The manufacturer today said that more than 600,000 consoles were sold in the first eight days after launch, generating sales of more than $190 million. Meanwhile, Ebay is experiencing brisk PS3 and Wii activity with sale prices having settled around $1200 and $400, respectively."

Console price war looms

Console price war looms: "n an interview with the infamous Dean Takahashi at the San Jose Mercury News, Robbie Bach believes the looming console price war will decide the outcome of the battle between the two gaming giants.

Speaking to Takahashi, Bach said, 'You have look at the economics. You have to ask the question, over the life cycle, who has the cost advantage? Who can price most effectively? Who can reach the price points quicker? That has a huge impact on what gets driven.'

He added, 'Because we were out there first, we have a bigger installed base of consoles. We can drive down the manufacturing curve sooner and faster. And because we designed a box that was fundamentally easier to manage on costs, we’re going to have that advantage.'"

OK, so even if the playing field with respect to lead times were even (in other owrds, if MS and Sony had released at the same time) then the one with the highest margin wins. In the beginning, MS was reported to be losing $500 a console, and now Sony is reported at $700... You do the math. Given the years extra time to drop manufacturing costs and to roll out new add-ons and services, Microsoft has a clear home field advantage at the moment. If ANYONE is going to come out on top it is likely to be Nintendo with their innovative approach to simply 'ignoring' the hiTech NextGen market (for the moment) and instead just focusing on games that are 'good enough' visually and fun to play.

BBspot - MPAA Lobbying for Home Theater Regulations

BBspot - MPAA Lobbying for Home Theater Regulations: "The MPAA defines a home theater as any home with a television larger than 29' with stereo sound and at least two comfortable chairs, couch, or futon. Anyone with a home theater would need to pay a $50 registration fee with the MPAA or face fines up to $500,000 per movie shown."

Shade of the UK TV Tax, but wait! This is going to fund, well, private enterprise and not public TV.

Monday, November 27, 2006

Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day: "What I also learned was that the only power I had, the only power that anyone has, is the power to choose. It's not much, as powers go. You don't see many super-heroes with that as their specialty. I learned that the yin and yang of life are faith and fear, 'yes' and 'no.' And where you exercise your power in life is in choosing which of those two aspects to embrace, to present to the world."

10 Minute Mail

10 Minute Mail: "Why would you use this? Maybe you want to sign up for a site which requires that you provide an e-mail address to send a validation e-mail to. And maybe you don't want to give up your real e-mail address and end up on a bunch of spam lists. This is nice and disposable. And it's free. Enjoy!"

PS3, Xbox receive batterings

"Unfortunately Dave Karraker, Sr. Director, Corporate Communications retracted the statement made to GameDaily, adding that Sony can't currently confirm the issue can be fixed with a patch and are 'looking into the issue and haven't stated any actions that will be taken regarding it.'"

and for the 360:

Speaking to in a post found in the official Gears of War forums Rein says the GoW team is "working hard to support Gears of War" with "some great enhancements" as soon as possible. "We're not ready to provide any details yet but I assure you we're on the job," he added.

and lastly:

"However, Mark was less specific concerning follows ups to the first GoW, humorously adding: "Gears is a trilogy? If we can keep making quality games that fans obviously then why would we have to stop at three?"

Clumsy NZ policeman stuns himself. 18/11/2006. ABC News Online

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Rolling the dice. - By Henry Lanman - Slate Magazine

Rolling the dice. - By Henry Lanman - Slate Magazine: "As the United States knows better than anyone, useful intellectual-property protection requires a shared set of global enforcement agreements. Precisely because it has the most to gain from this system, the United States is also uniquely vulnerable to gaps in it. And that's why allowing countries like Antigua to suspend intellectual-property treaties in trade disputes gives them such a potent weapon, a fact that the United States, much to its annoyance, may soon learn."

WebScription Ebooks

WebScription Ebooks: "Baen Books (www.baen.com), a publisher of science fiction, will provide its books to fans who are blind, paralysed, or dyslexic, or are amputees, in electronic form free of charge, effective immediately."

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

BBC NEWS | Technology | Physics promises wireless power

The answer the team came up with was 'resonance', a phenomenon that causes an object to vibrate when energy of a certain frequency is applied."

I have seen this used on very small appliances, but it would be sweet to see this extended to bigger items. Still, it is unlikely that you'll be running your power tools or electric vacuum this way any time soon.

M-AUDIO busts out Torq MixLab Digital DJ System - Engadget

Very nice. Combine this with something like the TasCam US-122 and you have a very effective and cost conscious way of hooking into pro audio equipment and doing mixing, editing and the like on your PC.

Astromech - Official R2 Robot Builders Club - The Red Ferret Journal

V for ...

Whatever it takes to get people interested in their own governance...that I can applaud even if I might not agree with what they are promoting (can't say for certain, haven't looked into it that deeply).

Monday, November 06, 2006

eBox by AC Propulsion

eBox by AC Propulsion: "The eBox has a 140-180 mile range on a Lithium Ion battery pack (comprised of 5,300 18650 Li-Ion cells), accelerates 0-60mph in under 7 seconds, has an electronically limited top speed of 90mph, and is propelled by a 120kW AC Propulsion drivetrain. The power steering and air conditioning are fully functional. "

XBox HD-DVD comes at a heavy price

XBox HD-DVD comes at a heavy price: "Insomniac revealed in an interview that one of the launch titles for the console, 'Resistance', is set to use its own basic online gaming features, instead of any Sony provided services. The columnist writes 'The ball, in other words, has not so much been dropped; it has been hurled at the ground with alarming force' - sentiments we can only agree with."

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Big labels are f*cked, and DRM is dead - Peter Jenner | The Register

Big labels are f*cked, and DRM is dead - Peter Jenner | The Register: "The record companies have managed to establish, and I think incorrectly and it should be challenged, that a download is a replacement for a sale. Here's what they're saying - it's a mechanical, so it's the same as selling a record. Then the logic goes on: a download is a certain technical process that puts it onto your machine. So anything which does that is a download. Therefore, anything delivered in that way is a sale: so we'll pay you as a sale."